A powerful story of young love and idealism set in Singapore in the 1960s, a time of political uncertainties and economic insecurity.

Young, passionate and idealistic, Sister Marie rejects the conformity of her first love, a Singaporean police inspector, and embraces the liberalism of her second love, an American missionary. Fresh into university, she leads a group of students to question the values of a nation gripped by fear of the government and loss of their rice bowl. They organise a protest march against the Vietnam War, which leads to a riot, detention and deportation of the workers they try to help. In the midst of this, a student meets a tragic death, while a lecturer and a suspected Communist agent provocateur goes crazy in his attempts to radicalise the students-workers’ movement.

“I have been struck by the sheer power and force of this short, exciting and absorbing book. Rice Bowl is a tour de force. Any reader experiencing this dramatic narrative of shattered dreams and realised hopes will be compelled to re-examine his/her values for Rice Bowl is a book which demands our personal and honest engagement.” — Dr Kirpal Singh, writer, critic, scholar

Suchen Christine Lim is an award-winning author of novels, short stories, children’s stories and a non-fiction book.

In 2012 she was awarded the Southeast Asia Write Award for her body of work. Fistful of Colours (1992), winner of the inaugural Singapore Literature Prize, is cited as a classic Singapore novel. Among other acclaimed works are A Bit of Earth (2001) and The River’s Song (2014). Her latest work of fiction Dearest Intimate was published in Oct 2022.

Awarded a Fullbright grant, Suchen was a Fellow in the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program and later its Writer in Residence. She was also a Fellow in Creative Writing at the Nanyang Technological University, and has held writing residences in the US, UK, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar.

A powerful story of young love and idealism set in Singapore in the 1960s, a time of political uncertainties and economic insecurity.